Navigating in three-dimensional environments, such as in animation software programs, can be disorienting and difficult for users because of an availability of multiple degrees of freedom in navigation of the environments with respect to common input devices. Some current systems enable users to navigate using a mouse and keyboard. With a mouse, a user has control over two degrees of freedom, namely control over the x and y directions. If a user wants to move in a z-direction (e.g., toward or back from an object in the 3D environment), the user can select a key on the keyboard. The selection of the key may modify the function of the mouse so that a horizontal movement of the mouse (e.g., a movement in the x direction), is mapped to a forward or backward movement (e.g., a movement along the z direction). The mapping of navigations from one degree of freedom to another degree of freedom, however, can be counter-intuitive to users.
Other systems may enable a user to navigate using a single device with up to seven degrees of freedom in movement. For example, a 3D motion controller may permit a user to control a virtual camera so that it can move horizontally, move vertically, move forward or backward, pan, tilt, or roll, or zoom. It may be difficult, however, for user to navigate around an object in a 3D environment because the user may have to compensate continually while trying to view objects in the environment. For example, a user may have to keep compensating in the x and y directions while tilting and panning a virtual camera so that an object that the camera is viewing stays within the camera's view.